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Short Sales Q & A

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Green
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Below find
Green
Realty's answers to the most frequently asked short sale questions.

Q. What is a short sale?

A. In a short sale the seller’s lender(s) agrees to accept less than what is owned on the loan for a property. . As such, it requires (it is contingent on) the lender(s)’s agreement(s), (Third Party Approval).

Q. How do I know if I qualify for a short sale?

A. The three must haves of a short sale are: Hardship, Monthly Shortfall and Insolvency.

2. Monthly shortfall: Monthly income is less than monthly obligations.

3. Insolvency: Seller cannot have assets that can be liquidated or used to cure the debt or monthly short fall.

Q. I have a little bit of money still left in my account. Will I qualify for a short sale if I have a hardship and a monthly short fall?

A. Yes. I am not saying the someone has be completely broke but if there is a good amount of money on the distressed homeowners possession, the mortgage holder is likely to ask for some, or all, amount in order to agree to release the mortgage and the note.

Q. How long does a short sale take?

A. There is no standard short sale process used by lenders so each lender has their own method and timeline to process a short sale. After the lender receives a complete short sale packet with an offer to purchase the home, the lender will require from 30 to 120 days to process the short sale. The sale must close within 30 days from the date the lenders issue the demand letter (aka approval letter).

Q. Is the seller’s lender involved in the offer/contract on a short sale?

A. No. The sale of the home is between the buyer and the seller. The seller's lender is not a part of the contract in any way whatsoever. It does not agree or disagree with anything, it does not negotiate terms, (down payment amount, number of days for inspection, closing day, etc.). Seller's lender approval is a contingency that must be met in order for the sale to go through. The banks make NO decision about accepting or denying an offer. The seller's lender only verify that the seller is a candidate for a short sale and how much money will they be willing to receive in exchange for releasing the mortgage and the note of the home.

Q. Should the seller sign multiple offers and submit multiple offers to the lender?

A. No. It is very common for my listings to receive multiple offers. When that happens, I ask the buyers to sign a multiple offer disclosure saying that there is more than one offer being presented to the SELLER and the form provides the buyer with time couple to change their offer to best and highest. Once that day comes, I present all offers to the seller and the seller will pick the best and highest offer, executes it and that is the offer to be sent to the seller's lender. Any other offer after that is a back-up offer. I have not found good language (nor would I advise me client to) sign more than one contract, a home cannot be sold to more than one purchaser and doing so leaves sellers open to much liability.